“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” – Matthew 6:26-30

One of the most poetic sets of verses in the Bible is found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:26-30. Our Lord sets a picturesque illustration of our heavenly Father as the ultimate provider and caretaker of His creation. He points our focus to things we experience here on earth that we can’t help but admire for their own unique beauty, like the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Every human being can experience and admire them with an awareness that God reminds us not to worry about material things like the food we will eat or the clothes we will wear. This is because our heavenly Father has those bases covered. He has a special love for us: “Are you not of more value than they?” Similarly, our focus should be on Him and His eternal plan for us.

The Birds of the AirWho has not seen a bird defy gravity and soar freely in the air? Their specially-designed feathers dress them in an array of fascinating colors and the most pleasing sounds can be heard out of the tiniest mouths of these fascinating creatures. They sing their own songs depending on the kind of bird, and all this is sustained by the harmonious plan of their benevolent Creator.

Our Lord tells us that they have a different plan of life than man who has to “sow and reap” for his food, but birds have their own designed biological niche. Depending on the bird, diets vary, but most need a high protein food that can be found on earth such as seeds, insects, worms, fish, amphibians, reptiles, other birds, small mammals like mice, dead animals, and eggs. Other birds, such as humming birds, need nectar because of their high energy output. (The humming bird beats its wings an average of 53 times per second and its heart pumps at 1,200 times per minute.) There is certainly enough food for these birds as long as there is a variety of living organisms found on our planet. This provision is all in the plan of our eternal Caretaker, Jesus Christ.

Birds are warm-blooded animals with a four-chambered heart requiring oxygen to maintain high energy levels. The earth’s atmospheric composition provides the 20.95% oxygen needed for birds to live. This is the same for most living things, including humans. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, recommends the optimal breathing range to be between 19.5 and 23.5% oxygen for humans. The ranges are specific and demonstrate that these oxygen levels have to be in place, not just for humans, but also for other animals to exist. If the oxygen level were to increase by 1%, the amount of forest fires would increase by 77%. This emphasizes that the level of oxygen in our air is fine-tuned to optimize these amounts for life to exist. Nitrogen levels are at 78.08%. This level of nitrogen is stable throughout most of our atmosphere, and this provides a check on oxygen activity levels. The air that birds use to fly also has a composition that supports life. Of all the gases known to man, and the many different compositions that can be mathematically constructed, how could the Big Bang or any other natural phenomena produce this composition of exactly 78.08% Nitrogen and 21.95% Oxygen in support of life as we know it? The only logical answer is that our heavenly Father has designed and fine-tuned our world to support life.

With their ability to fly, the birds of the air have an edge in providing food for themselves over the creatures that crawl and walk on the earth. One of the basic biological characteristics of birds is their feathers, giving them their ability to fly. This, along with its exceptional skeletal structure and specially-designed wings, provides these animals with an extremely light and strong skeletal structure necessary for flight. The feather consists of a shaft (the calamus), the hollow central part with the vein, and individual feathers that extend out and include microscopic structures called barbules. These microstructures have the ability to grab on to another barbule just like Velcro, producing an incredibly strong connection. This “fitting together” not only protects the bird, but it also gives the wing flexibility and strength to fly. It also provides a tight seal, making the bird virtually waterproof.

Another important feature is the bird’s skeletal structure. Bird bones are very different than those of other vertebrates because they have bones that are full of air-filled cavities. These specialized bones do not hinder flight, but actually give the bird its special lift. A bird’s bones also have thin struts throughout the structure to give it support during flight. In fact, as larger airplanes were designed, engineers researched the bone structure of birds. They added struts to their design so these planes could maintain lift. The muscular strength in a bird’s chest area provides movement for the basic wing structure of three bones in the wing. These bones, in conjugation with specially-designed feathers, allows the bird to defy gravity. This is a highly specialized and coordinated process that is revealed in the study of aerodynamics. For many years, man attempted to defy gravity and fly, but it was only accomplished after a careful study of birds in flight.

Evolutionists fail to recognize that flight requires such intricate and uniquely specialized anatomical structures that it is inexcusable to think flight is not designed. Natural Selection dramatically fails to explain the origin of flight because these creatures are distinct. In addition to this, evolutionists tell us that flight evolved no less than four different times with these organisms developing flight while being entirely unrelated to one another (called convergent evolution).

Over the years, they have feebly grabbed on to the supposedly famous transitional fossil, Archaeopteryx. This fossil allegedly links dinosaurs with birds. Such a proposed theory raises many unanswered questions. This unusual fossil first appeared in Bavarian limestone quarries in 1861 located in south Germany. It appeared to have feathers, a bony tail, and claws on its wings and teeth.

Evolutionists like to claim that teeth prove the evolutionary relationship between birds and dinosaurs that tear flesh like tyrannosaurus rex. There are presently-existing birds who have teeth-like structures, such as the greylag goose found in Europe and western Asia. These tooth-like structures run on the outside edges, top, and bottom of the beak. They are used to cut shoots and grasses which comprise the major part of this goose’s diet. There are many birds that have claws on their wings, but they are hidden by their feathers. These include chickens and ostriches. A feathery, bony tail along with the wings covered with feathers suggested that Archaeopteryx could easily fly. There were other bird-like fossils discovered since then, particularly in China. Some have dated 10 million years earlier than Archaeopteryx, and along with twelve more recent discoveries of Archaeopteryx fossils, there is still much confusion with regard to the evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs.

Despite evolution’s failure, evolutionists continue to portray this fossil as being transitional. Archaeopteryx still holds a special place in our public-school textbooks. Such a suggestion is absurd in the highest degree. One can easily see that birds are unique and that biologists place them in a class by themselves. They are in the taxonomical Class Aves, with this group numbering close to 10,000 different species. It is ironic that the Creator in His Sermon on the Mount would use the illustration of a bird to teach us spiritual truth. Also, because of the beauty and so many other attractive characteristics that birds exhibit, this creature has a special place in many cultures. Man can never achieve what God has accomplished in the ultimate design of the bird. All of the intricate design of all life on earth is a testament to His glory for all to behold. We can only mimic what our heavenly Father has put in motion. He has everything in His hands, and He alone is worthy to be praised!

The Lilies of the FieldIn the Sermon on the Mount, our Messiah directs our attention to the lilies of the field. In botanical terms, this plant’s name comes from the genus of herbaceous or flowering plants. They grow from a bulb with large flowers that come in a variety of colors including white, yellow, red, violet, orange, pink, and purple. Most are extraordinarily fragrant flowers that signify their universal beauty. Our Savior chose the lily as the perfect covering for the earth’s land. In doing so, He demonstrates its splendor, a grandeur that even Solomon “in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” He reminds us not to get caught up in all this earthly beauty that is here today and gone tomorrow. These lovely plants will eventually warp, lose their fragrance, and die. Why do we put so much emphasis on materials things when God has an eternal plan for each of us?

Lilies and grass that are mentioned in this passage do not have to “labor and spin” to make clothes like man does. God has designed them to live another way that is much more efficient than what man settles for. They basically utilize light from the sun, the trace gas in our atmosphere with carbon dioxide at about 0.04%, and enough water to grow and live. The dirt from the earth around the plant (excluding air plants) provides the minerals and other nutrients it needs to grow. This process looks simple, but don’t be deceived. Our Master Designer included the process of photosynthesis, something that scientists still do not fully understand. It is a superb process utilizing a tiny amount of the sun’s energy to unite molecules of water and carbon dioxide to produce one of the basic molecules of life – glucose. It is glucose that will eventually chemically change into cellulose, which is the plant material we find in our salads, vegetables, and fruits we eat. Of course, this is an over simplification of what is taught in biology class, yet this is what everyone experiences on planet earth as part of a Creator’s plan. Plants are a basic food source for most living things. When our heavenly Father says, “…do not worry about your material needs,” He certainly has us covered.

The Symbiotic Activity on EarthWhen you observe the earth, you can’t help but witness how living things fit so well together. Symbiotic activity is when things mutually work together like in Disney’s “Circle of Life.” It is a product of our Creator. When we study what life needs not only to exist, but also to be able to thrive and work together, we witness the genius of the Creator. We need the right amount of sunlight; the composition of our atmosphere is also fine-tuned and is essential to life. The water supply has to be plentiful, and so we observe that this planet is covered with 71% water. The size of the earth, with its movements rotating around its axis and revolving around the sun, all provide extremely important dynamic forces for weather change, atmospheric pressure, and so many other conditions necessary for life. When properly combined, it makes it possible for life to be present on the earth. So many physical, chemical, strong, and weak nuclear forces are fine-tuned to support life that scientists have named this phenomenon the Anthropic Principle. God created the earth so that life could exist in a huge variety of intricate lifeforms. The birds of the air interact with the earth and its living provision so that God’s glory can be seen by man. Certainly, this delicate and intricate planning is evident in the lilies of the field that grow in the earth’s soil by God’s design.

What many fail to understand is that God’s plan can be seen everywhere here on earth. It is written in our DNA. Our genes are made of DNA, and they are filled with information that makes us who we are. Where did that come from? It came from our Heavenly Father. This truth is neatly illustrated in the video, Programming of Life 2: Earth. After viewing this video, you will be filled with awe for your Creator. You cannot help but see His glory in this excellently produced video that illustrates that the earth was not created by chance, but programmed for life since its inception so that we can appreciate the birds of the air and lilies of the field.

Along with this exciting and resourceful video (quick sleeve production), our ministry is also going to offer an excellent daily devotional, Have You Considered: Evidence Beyond a Reasonable Doubt by Julie Von Volt and Bruce Malone. This devotional is produced with many colorful pictures, captivating graphics, and a biblical creation message that daily affirms our faith.